S. Florida's Job Market On Upswing In 3 Counties

Signs of an improving job market in South Florida appeared Friday with a fourth straight month of declines in unemployment in all three counties, signaling that companies are cautiously rehiring.

Unemployment in Broward County fell to 5.5 percent in December from a revised 5.9 percent in November. That is slightly above Florida's unemployment rate of 5.3 percent and still leaves 44,820 out-of-work residents in the county.

Despite signs of improvement, many economists are pegging it a jobless recovery because the unemployed are having a hard time finding full-time work with benefits comparable to positions they lost. And those on the frontlines in South Florida agree.

"Those who see it looking better must have jobs," said Maureen Forbes of Pembroke Pines. "To me, it looks rather bleak."

Forbes lost her job as a corporate trainer in December, after surviving several earlier rounds of layoffs at the call center where she worked for three years. "I'm worried about messing up my credit and not being able to pay my mortgage if I don't find a new job soon," said Forbes, who didn't apply for unemployment benefits because she didn't foresee being jobless this long.

The hardest hit in this recession have been white-collar employees, experts say.

New jobs are being created, but most often in lower-paid service and temporary jobs.

Among the nation's 10 most populous states, only Florida and California recorded job growth, with Florida leading in both job growth rate and the number of jobs created. Florida created 61,800 more jobs in December 2002 compared to a year ago. About 37,900 of those new jobs were in the service industry.

"The vibrancy of Florida's economy is truly amazing and poses wonderful possibilities for our future," the governor said in releasing the state's employment report.

Miami-Dade led the state with 18,500 new jobs over the year. Palm Beach was ranked second in the state, gaining 6,600 new jobs. Broward County, however, had a net loss of 4,400 jobs in the same period.

Palm Beach County saw its jobless rate fall to 5.1 percent from a revised 5.6 percent in November. Miami-Dade County saw its unemployment drop to 6.8 percent in December from a revised 7.2 percent.

Florida's unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in December, up from November's revised 5.2 percent. The U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged in December at 6.0 percent.

South Florida companies have begun to cautiously rehire and are creating new jobs, said local business leaders.

"We're encouraged by the upswing, but we still have a long way to go," said Shannon Hurley, regional manager for outplacement and recruitment company Robert Half International in Fort Lauderdale.

Companies hiring are in health care, construction and manufacturing, said Hurley, who concedes that the number of applicants far exceeds new jobs. That is keeping wages stagnant, and in some cases, significantly less than in 2001.

About 412,000 Floridians were out of work in December, 8,000 more than in November but 54,000 fewer than a year ago when unemployment was 6 percent.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits did increase 2.3 percent in December, according to the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. That suggests that it is a gradually improving job market with some companies still laying off workers.

Nationwide, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state jobless benefits rose last week.

Initial jobless applications increased by 18,000 to 381,000 in the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. That compared with a two-year low of 358,000 reached in the final week of November.

After eliminating almost 1.8 million jobs since the recession started in March 2001, U.S. companies are still cutting costs and holding down payrolls.

A still fragile economy is a leading factor behind increasing job search times, which, in the fourth quarter, grew to their longest in 17 years of tracking by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

It took an average of 3.9 months for job seekers to find employment in the fourth quarter. That is up from 3.4 months in the fourth quarter a year ago. It took unemployed workers surveyed by Challenger in the fourth quarter of 2000 just 2.5 months to find new jobs.

"Without new jobs being created," said CEO John Challenger, "job seekers will be locked in battle for a limited number of job openings."

Joan Fleischer Tamen can be reached at jtamen@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5030.